Des Moines — Iowa state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott released the following statement in response to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ announcement of a new competitive grant program to expand summer meal sites for children.
“While I appreciate the governor finally doing something for hungry children in our state, the competitive grant program announced today amounts to crumbs for Iowa kids.,” Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, said. “Gov. Reynolds could have accepted $29 million in federal food assistance that would’ve reached 240,000 children in every corner of the state. The $900,000 state program she announced today is tiny in comparison – and forces Iowa communities to compete for a sliver of that little pie. That’s not enough to meet the real needs facing our state. And it doesn’t make up for her decision to let Iowa kids go hungry.”
“While summer feeding programs have their place, they are not accessible to all Iowa families. Families must bring their children to and from the site every day, which is impossible for most working families,” Trone Garriott said. “There are many Iowa school districts and entire counties that don’t even have a feeding site. As a result, these programs assisted less than 20,000 children last year. The governor could have expanded these programs AND participated in the Summer EBT program. But instead, she put politics before the health and wellbeing of our kids.”
Senate Democrats’ efforts ensured that Iowa kids were eligible for the Summer EBT program in 2023, and the caucus united behind legislation to require the state to adopt the program again in 2024. However, Republican politicians led by Gov. Reynolds, killed the legislation, and refused to participate in Summer EBT, taking $29 million in food aid away from children and families in need.
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